Alvarado has made his choice

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - If jockey Pedro Alvarado has assessed the situation correctly, then Commodore Craig should have the edge over Celt in the feature race at Hastings Sunday. Alvarado rode both horses to wins July 8 and he's opted to ride Commodore Craig in the 6 1/2-furlong $25,000 claiming race for 3-year-olds and up, which drew six horses.

It's not surprising that Alvarado chooses to ride Commodore Craig. After all, Commodore Craig has hit the board in 36 of his 44 starts and he's been very tough at this level, with two wins and a second-place finish in his last four starts for this price.

Trained by Toni Cloutier, Commodore Craig is also more versatile then Celt. He battled through quick fractions to beat Nineleventurbo by a neck in a $25,000 claiming sprint July 8, but he's also very comfortable stalking.

On the other hand Celt, who is trained by Dino Condilenios and will be ridden by Frank Fuentes, has just one way of going, and there's not much doubt that he's the one they'll be chasing Sunday.

Celt is coming off of a confidence-building win over $15,000 claimers July 8 and he's more than capable of carrying his speed the whole way here. Celt isn't as consistent as Commodore Craig, having hit the board in 21 of his 41 starts, but he has won more races than Commodore Craig, 12 as opposed to 8. Commodore Craig has the edge in money earned, $321,287 compared to $210,977.

Coeur Joie appears to be the main threat to the top pair.